The World Theatre Training Institute was founded in 1995 as AKT-ZENT International Theatre Centre Berlin, under the artistic direction of Dr. Jurij Alschitz, to provide a framework for continuous learning, experiment, and research.

In 2011, AKT-ZENT was appointed research centre of the International Theatre Institute, World Organisation for the Perfoming Arts to conduct the ITI project “The World Theatre Training Library”. In 2017, it became the World Theatre Training Institute AKT-ZENT / ITI. The Institute is the lead organisation for the European Association for Theatre Culture (EATC) – an unusual network of ideas – with the shared objective of acquiring, accumulating, and disseminating knowledge and theatre expertise.

Over the years the unique “Team Teaching” model that has been developed with a European ensemble of teachers teaching a self-enclosed pedagogic system in a fully multi-lingual environment with the emphasis on exploring the inclusion of different cultures of the world.

Laboratories, master classes and seminars are held with the objective of exploring and imparting methodological principles; the M.A. Teaching Professional Theatre Practice introduces the training of trainers at a University level as part of a world-wide research project into theatre training methods, namely the World Theatre Training Library to be published world-wide; Methodika, the biannual international festival for training methods brings specialists together.

The World Theatre Training Institute marks a new era of educational practice with a range of innovative projects. The scientific focus lies in the development of hybrid tuition which combines distance learning and contact education through an international team of teachers.

Most important projects:

The Institute has launched its own hybrid theatre training platform for online education as a complementary tool for any new programme addressing learners world-wide.

The most prominent project of the hybrid programme is “EXERCISE 40/40”. Here, the team-teaching model works with the methods of spherical education and knowledge resonance; the emphasis on specific learning algorithms with high impact foresees an intensive contact phase of 40 days enough for 40 years of self-creation with the effect of reducing time and saving financial resources; furthermore reaching students in any region of the world.

Since 2011, the institute undertakes research for the 'The World Theatre Training Library” - an ongoing project which has been subsequently recongnized by the International Theatre Institute as one of the most important explorations of contemporary and future theatre development; collecting worldwide knowledge regarding theatre practice, performing arts traditions and turning it into new exercises and training methods.

International cooperations:

The World Theatre Training Institute AKT-ZENT/ITI offers a unique platform for cross-cultural research and exchange; promoting international cooperation, alongside individual initiatives, with the overarching aim to foster a global and innovative network of scientifically and methodologically trained theatre teachers. The EATC network demonstrates AKT-ZENT's commitment toward activating theatrical development across the world and our longstanding partner institutions and cooperation are also showcased in our bi-annual arts festival METHODIKA.

Publications:

ARS INCOGNITA is the Institute's small in-house publishers, which offers books focussing on a range of topics from Theatre and Performing Arts to Methodology, as well as disclosing the results of our training laboratories and master classes.

Artistic Director

Dr. Jurij Alschitz is one of the most well-known and popular theatre teachers who has educated thousands of students working around the world. He is widely known as a researcher of the theatre, the author of many books on theatre pedagogy published in several languages and countries. He received his director training in Moscow from Prof. J. Malkovsky, Prof. M. Budkevich and Prof. A. Vasiliev. Since 1992 Dr. Jurij Alschitz has been leading projects and teaching at universities and drama schools in East and West Europe, Asia, South and North America, and founded the international festival METHODIKA. Several theatre centres were established under his artistic direction and form the European Association for Theatre Culture. He is founder and artistic director of AKT-ZENT which was appointed research centre of the International Theatre Institute, and became the World Theatre Training Institute AKT-ZENT/ITI in 2017.

His current work concentrates on theoretical research; “The World Theatre Training Library” was recognized by the International Theatre Institute as one of the most important theatrical exploration at this time. Dr. Jurij Alschitz developed a completely new “Hybrid Theatre Training Platform” based on the spherical format of education using resonance theory among others, for acquiring knowledge. His master students are successfully working worldwide as actors, directors, and teachers, and form through a unique artistic relationship the “Team of Teachers of J.Alschitz”